Bug Squad

The Sting. (c) Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bug Squad blog, by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the University of California, Davis, is a daily (Monday-Friday) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008. It is about the wonderful world of insects and the entomologists who study them. Blog posts are archived at https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm. The story behind "The Sting" is here: https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7735.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BUMBLE BEE nectars flowers on the grounds of the Marshall (Calif.) Post Office in Marin County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Signed, Sealed and Delivered

June 26, 2009
A trip today to Marin County, with a side trip to the Marshall Post Office in Marshall, yielded a triple bonus. A bumble bee, a honey bee, and a syrphid or flower fly all were nectaring flowers on the post office grounds, located right across from a restaurant and marina we were visiting.
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NATIVE POLLINATOR SPECIALIST Neal Williams has just joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty. Here he shows a collection of native bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Just in Time for National Pollinator Week

June 25, 2009
It's National Pollinator Week, and what a perfect time to welcome native pollinator specialist Neal Williams to the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty. He's actually no stranger to UC Davis. He's been collaborating with researchers at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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A DAMSELFLY, probably a bluet, perches on a tower of jewels, a bee-friendly plant. Now it's a damselfly-friendly plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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A Damsel Not in Distress

June 24, 2009
They're as long and thin as darning needles. And, sometimes theyre as difficult to find as a needle in the proverbial haystack. These slender, frail-looking insects (below) are damselflies. They fly around ponds and streams and perch on plants near the shoreline.
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HONEY BEE touches down on a bristly oxtongue, a plant considered a noxious weed to people but a treasure to bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Noxious or Nice?

June 23, 2009
Today, in honor of National Pollinator Week, we turn to the Picris echioides. Picris echioides? You either hate it or love it. Honey bees love it. Gardeners hate it. ?If you plant a lawn with Picris echioides, expect a visit from Code Compliance.
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THE HONEY BEE (Apis mellifera) is a cause for celebration during National Pollinator Week, June 22-28. This honey bee is nectaring sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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First Garden, First Hives, First Bees

June 22, 2009
This week (June 22-28) is National Pollinator Week, and what better time to celebrate the honey bee than now? The White House Victory Garden, planted the first day of spring on part of the South Lawn, now has thousands of new residents: honey bees (Apis mellifera).
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